John Hegley
| birth_place = Islington, London, England | death_date = | death_place = | medium = Performance poetry, Stand up comedy | nationality = British | active = | genre = | subject = | influences = | influenced = | notable_work= | signature = | website = Link | footnotes = | emmyawards = | britishcomedyawards = }} John Richard Hegley (born 1 October 1953) is an English performance poet, comedian, musician, and songwriter.John Hegley profile, Bradford University website Life Youth Hegley was born in the Newington Green area of Islington, London, England, into a Roman Catholic household. Hegley has French ancestry (his father's name was René) and claims he is descended from the composer Jean-Philippe Rameau."People's Poet Laureate Plays Adam Smith Theatre", fifedirect.org.uk, May 29, 2008 His paternal grandmother was a dancer with the Folies Bergère."My family values: John Hegley, poet", The Guardian, 20 June 2009 He was brought up in Luton and Bristol. After leaving school he worked as a bus conductor and civil servant before attending the University of Bradford, where he gained a B.Sc. in European Literature and the History of Ideas and Sociology. Career Hegley began his performing career at London's Comedy Store in 1980, and received national exposure when he appeared with his backing band the Popticians on Carrott's Lib in 1983, and recorded two sessions for John Peel in 1983 and 1984.BBC - Radio 1 - Keeping it Peel - The Popticians Hegley published his first poetry collection, Visions of the Bone Idol (Poems about Dogs and Glasses), pieces from which were later incorporated into Glad to Wear Glasses, in 1984. Hegley has written a number of collections of poetry, ranging from the surreal through the humorous to the personal and emotional. There are a number of recurring themes in his poems, notably glasses, dogs and reminiscences of his childhood in Luton.John Hegley at contemporarywriters.com He was presenter of the Border Television series Word of Mouth - in which numerous contemporary poets performed their work - in 1990, and the BBC radio series Hearing with Hegley from 1996 to 1999. His other television appearances include Wogan and Never Mind the Buzzcocks. In 1998, Hegley's poem "Malcolm" came second in a BBC survey to find Britain's most popular comic poem. In 1999 he starred in a Simon Callow-directed revival of the musical The Pajama Game in London's West End."Pajama Game pillowtalk", BBC News, 4 October 1999 Hegley frequently performs live and is a regular at the Edinburgh Festival. His stage act includes elements of poetry, music (he plays the mandolin and is often accompanied by a double bassist), comedy and Luton Town Football Club. He also likes to utilise audience participation in his shows, for example by having a dog drawing competition during the interval, or by asking his audience to try writing poetry themselves. He has led creative writing courses at the University of Luton.Rampton, J. Review: There once was a fellow named John..., The Independent, 20 January 1998 Hegley launched "Warning: May Contain Nuts", a project using comedy to increase awareness of mental illness. He performed these shows in 2010 with other performers, including comic Mackenzie Taylor, talking about mental illness. Recognition The University of Luton awarded him an honorary LL.D. in 2000. Publications *''Visions of the Bone Idol (Poems about Dogs and Glasses)'' illustrated by Linda Leatherbarrow (Little Bird Press 1984) ASIN: B0016ZKLU2 *''The Brother-in-Law and Other Animals'' (Down the Publishing Company 1986) *''Poems for Pleasure'' (Hamlyn 1989) *''Glad to Wear Glasses (glad to have ears)'' illustrated by Linda Leatherbarrow (Andre Deutsch 1990) ISBN 978-0233050355 *''Can I Come Down Now, Dad?'' (Methuen 1991) *''Five Sugars, Please'' (Methuen 1993) *''These Were Your Father's'' (Methuen 1994) *''Love Cuts'' (Methuen 1995) *''The Family Pack'' (Methuen 1997: incorporating The Brother-in-Law and Other Animals, Can I Come Down Now, Dad? and These Were Your Father's) *''Beyond our Kennel'' (Methuen 1998) *''Dog'' (Methuen 2000) *''My Dog is a Carrot'' (Walker Books 2002) *''The Sound of Paint Drying'' (Methuen 2003) * Sit-Down Comedy (contributor to anthology, ed Malcolm Hardee & John Fleming) Ebury Press/Random House, 2003. ISBN 0091889243; ISBN 978-0091889241 *''Uncut Confetti'' (Methuen 2006) *''The Ropes: Poems To Hold On To'' (editor with Sophie Hannah) (Diamond Twig 2008) *''The Adventures of Monsieur Robinet'' (Donut Press 2009) Audio / video Discography *''Spare Pear''/''Mobile Home'' (1984) Double A-sided single of Peel session recordings, with the Popticians *''I Saw My Dinner On TV'' (1988) Single with the Popticians *''Saint and Blurry'' (1993) Poems and music *''Hearing with Hegley'' (1996) BBC audio-cassette taken from the radio series of the same name *''Family Favourites'' (2006) Poems and music See also *List of British poets References External links ;Poems * John Hegley at PoemHunter (25 poems). ;Audio / video *John Hegley (b. 1953) at The Poetry Archive *John Hegley at YouTube ;About *John Hegley at the British Council *[http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/johnhegley?INTCMP=SRCH Hegley at the Guardian.] *"John Hegley: ‘I was just a bit odd when I was at school’," The Independent *John Hegley's Word Wild Web Site (Official website). Category:English poets Category:People from Islington Category:People from Luton Category:People from Bristol Category:English singer-songwriters Category:Alumni of the University of Bradford Category:Edinburgh Comedy Festival Category:1953 births Category:Living people Category:English comedians Category:Humorous poets